VICTORVILLE. The city continues filing appeals of its EB-5 Program termination still hoping that it will be allowed to continue raising funds through the EB-5 Investor Visa Program.
 
Victorville was planning on funding its wastewater treatment plant through the EB-5 Visa Program. According to the EB-5 investor program, foreign nationals have an opportunity to obtain U.S. green card eligibility by investing $1 million (or $500,000 in Targeted Employment Areas) in the USA project or company that allows either to maintain or to create at least 10 full-time jobs.
 
Victorville was granted EB-5 Regional Center designation by the Department of Homeland Security in July 2009. According to the source, in august 2009 “it has signed an exclusive agreement with Inland Energy to market the program and begun raising funds, approving $778,372 in expenses to set up its EB-5 Regional Center.”
 
Although the project already had several investors signed up and the situation with its termination as an EB-5 project is not clearly resolved, it is forced to start refunding some of the investors. As the EB-5 news source says, “the city agreed to refund $500,000 to an Asian investor who loaned the money through Victorville’s EB-5 program.” According to the source, the city made that decision in order “to avoid a lawsuit from the uneasy investor.”
 
However, today the city of Victorville is spending more money (just approved another $50,000) to fight its EB-5 Regional Center status termination. Therefore, Victorville is not going to give up on its other 18 investors waiting while city appeals termination of program.